Dear Reader,
This is a very special edition of the IMCCM magazine; for the first
time, the major has started in February, with a group of
eight motivated students. All of these students have
vast experience working and/or studying internationally.

customersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; brain? What is
going on suddenly?
12

What is a Social Media

For us, the lecturers, teaching a small group of students has
been a very good experience by providing us with much more
opportunity to interact with them.

Manager actually doing?
16

The newest marketing
trends in 2013

19

Going global

23

Apple â&#x20AC;&#x201C; A giant, a love
and a dictator

27

Cross-cultural Marketing
Research

31

Generation Y Branding

Their company assignments have provided them with enough
challenges to refine their thought process and apply their
knowledge to write a strategic marketing and communication
plan. This magazine will provide the reader with an opportunity
to read articles written by these students, on a broad range of
marketing, social media, and Neuromarketing topics.
We wish all the IMCCM students success in their future
endeavors, and we wish the readers an insightful reading
experience.
Pim Wolsink
Drew Henderson
Shilpa Samplonius
Gert Jan Hummel

PAGE 2

STENDEN UNIVERSITY

The Success of KLM with the use of Social
Media by Marloes Kartner
How important is the use of social media for companies these days?
Can it really make a difference in the relationship with the customers?
Can it increase sales or customer satisfaction? And what is the best way

KLM is 24/7 reachable
via social media. And
questions can be asked
in eight different
languages.

to do so? KLM Royal Dutch airlines is the perfect example of how social
media and online marketing is been done nowadays. They show how it
can make a difference in the relationship with the customers.
Since 18 July 2011 KLM is 24/7 reachable via social media. KLM is the first
and only airline who provides this service through Facebook, Twitter and
the Dutch social media platform Hyves. They have been very successful
with this new online strategy. In the past few years, KLM has won several
awards and online sales have been increased enormously (30% in 2011).
It all comes down to ‘interaction’ in KLM’s online marketing strategy.
Interaction is the keyword and the whole strategy is built on it. KLM
divided their online activities in three parts: web, social media and
mobile.
Web
Just like many other airlines, KLM has their own webpage which provides
the customers with all kinds of information. Visibly, there is nothing
special about their webpage. However, KLM’s marketing department is
aiming by using several acquisition channels to receive the highest
possible conversations at the lowest price through the cheapest
channels.

Impression of KLM’s Facebook
page.

Social Media
So there is nothing visibly special about KLM’s web, but when it comes to
KLM’s social media activities, they are far ahead of their competitors
and can serve as a perfect example for any other B2C company.
Since the ‘ash cloud’ in 2008, many questions were asked via social
media and KLM decided to make structural use of it.
As mentioned before, KLM installed a 24/7 social media team. The social
media team is available to answer any question and help with requests.

On the KLM’s Facebook page, customers can ask questions and they
will receive a quick answer (at least within 24-hours). Furthermore, the
page informs one about special offers, tells interesting facts, invites
visitors to interact with them through games and it shows amazing KLM
related pictures.

IMCCM MAGAZINE

PAGE 3

The latest news can be found on Twitter. But, besides telling the news,
Twitter also serves as a helpdesk. One can ask questions 24/7 in eight
different languages (Dutch, English, German, Spanish, Portuguese,
Japanese, Norwegian, Russian and Italian). On their webpage KLM is
telling that they aim to react on questions within one hour and solve a
problem within one day. There a three different KLM Twitter accounts
first the general KLM account, second the KLM ‘Zakelijk’ account for
entrepreneurs and doing business around the globe and finally the
KLM Open account which is related to the KLM Open golf event.

Facebook and Twitter are the two main social media channels which
are being managed by KLM to interact with the customers on an
international level. KLM is active in a lot of social media platform such
as: Instagram, Hyves, YouTube, LinkedIn, Google+ and KLM Blog.

KLM Twitter impression

Mobile
It sometimes seems that many companies still underestimate the
power the ‘mobile phone’. While many people use their phone to
search the web it is therefore important to have besides a normal
webpage a mobile webpage.
KLM created a mobile webpage and several apps for their ‘mobile’
customers. They created for example a ‘general’ KLM app where
customers can book and manage their flight, create a user account
which is linked to their frequent flyer program, search for flight data
and look for special offers.
Other interesting apps, especially for travel addicts, are the KLM
Passport app and the KLMTripShake app. In the Passport app
customers can choose the destination they have been to, upload
pictures add a title, add travel mates and choose a theme and a
video with music will be created. When customers want to go on
holiday but, they have no clue where to go to, the TripShake app
offers a solution. One can enter the departure airport and shake their
phone and a destination will pop up. Filters can be used to
concentrate on a certain continent and to select dates.
For the collectors of the famous KLM houses, a KLM houses app is
created. It shows a gallery with all the 93 houses including pictures,
history of each house and a map were in Holland the houses are
located. Collectors can add which houses they already have
collected and which ones they still miss. So instead of carrying papers
with all this information on board the collectors can just take their
phone and browse through their collection.

KLM Passport app

PAGE 4

STENDEN UNIVERSITY

A KLM Movies & More app is developed for passengers. It shows the
entertainment program of the specific month for intercontinental flights,
the journey already starts at home by choosing which movie to watch or
which music to listen to on board.
For the transport activities which KLM carries out an Air France – KLM
Cargo & Martinair Cargo app and a KLM and Timeslot Mapping app is
created. This shows that the online marketing strategy of KLM covers all
aspects of their business.
For the annual sport event organized by KLM, the KLM Open app is
developed were scores are being tracked, a start list is presented and
mentions interesting facts about the event.
As mentioned before, KLM is keen on interaction with the customers.
KLM mobile apps

Besides being 24/7 available for the customer, they constantly want to
improve their services. With the special KLM Feedback, KLM is asking
their customers to rate all kinds of things. From airport lounges in
Curacao to what a customer’s experience was at the check-in desk in
Athens.
KLM Must See map

Banners, advertorial or nice pictures to convince people to book a flight does not work anymore these days. Therefore, in
order to attract people to book a city trip, KM created a KLM Must See Map. The must see map is an online tool where
one can enter their destination of the city trip. And finally you can ask friends through Facebook, Twitter and Email to
leave their tips on the map. When the map is finalized, KLM will print it and send it to your home address. KLM was
nominated for the Dutch Interactive Awards with this tool.
KLM Meet and Seat
KLM held a pilot on three intercontinental routes with the new KLM Meet and Seat tool. But currently this tool is already
available on 13 routes. With the reservation number passengers are able to see who else will be on board through their
Facebook or LinkedIn. The service is there for customers who would like to network on board, and therefore it is mostly
used by business travelers. One can choose which details of the Facebook or LinkedIn page they would like to share. A
seat can be chosen from 90 days until 48 hours before the departure, so there is time enough to contact one another. In
the future this service could be used in many different sectors, for example for cruise companies, theatres and hotels.
‘Best online service B2C site’
KLM is currently very successful with their new online strategy. They have been nominated for many ‘online’ awards and
won several in previous years. In May 2013, KLM won two awards: the ‘best online service B2C site’ award, because of
their quick response through social media (23 minutes) even with over 25.000 interactions per week.
And the second award for KLM’s Meet and Seat app the ‘best tools and applications’ awards.

Total online integration
All these online tools and services shows that KLM has integrated ‘online marketing’ in the whole company. It shows that
interaction with the customer is becoming more and more important because of the existence of social media.

IMCCM MAGAZINE

PAGE 5

Does social media work for your company?
But it raises an important question: Is this level of online marketing
applicable for every company or industry? Can it be used only for B2C
or also for B2B? Does it work for your company? I believe it is possible
for every company. Only what matters is till what extent. For smaller
companies it will be too expensive to have several applications, but
having a mobile webpage, Facebook and Twitter is a good option for
each company. The use of Facebook and Twitter will be mainly done
by B2C companies. But creating useful tools and applications is an
option for both. For example in the logistic industry tools or applications
for tracking a package or cargo would be interesting, since
companies can than easily check at any time where their order is.

10 Social Media Marketing Tips:
It still seems that companies are scared of using social media. Here are 10 useful tips to get your business into the
world of ‘Social Media’.
1.

Be everywhere

There are still people who only use Facebook and twitter. Or people who do not have Facebook but do have a
LinkedIn account. Therefore, try to be everywhere! Each social media platform is able to suit a certain target
group and one particular platform could work better for someone or for a certain industries. Make sure you have
all options available in order to serve each and everyone within your community.
2.

Interact with your audience

Social media makes interaction with customers or potential customers much easier. So, spend time talking to
people within your community. KLM is a great example for the way this could be done. Try to respond to every
tweet or comment on Facebook. Be polite no matter what the circumstances are. Make sure your response is
within an acceptable time range.
3.

Provide something of value

Differentiate yourself from others, provide something that others don’t. For example special discounts for
followers.
4.

Learn from your community

Use the people within your network to learn from them. Research them, ask feedback and try to meet their
wishes and needs.
5.

Promote everywhere

Promote your Social Networks everywhere. This can be done for example by submitting your article on Digg,
Reddit or Mixx. Or try to get a lot of Retweets or shares through Twitter or Facebook then your network will grow.

PAGE 6

6.

STENDEN UNIVERSITY

Write, write, write

Write as much as you can. Make sure your content is constantly fresh, updated and appealing to your readers.
Write blogs and submit articles to sites such as: InfoBarrel, Hubpages, Associated Content and Squido. You can
either write the blogs yourself or hire people to write for you. For example, KLM has several writers for their blogs
such as, Marleen Veldhuis (former Olympian), Morena (a KLM employee) and Guest writers.
7.

Find niche networks within your industry

There are tons of little upcoming social media networks. Therefore, it is rather easy to become a leader within your
niche
8.

Use tools

Use tools to support the social media networks. It will help to be organized and to have a clear overview. These
tools could be:

9.

•

Refollow for Twitter

•

Flicker Uploadr

•

StubleUpon Toolbar

•

Hootsuite.com

Pass traffic to your website

Make sure all passing traffic leads to the company’s website. Make sure all social media platforms are linked to the
webpage, since the company’s website is still the greatest sales tool.
10. Serve the community
Do not only put messages on social media which benefits the company, but also message which are interesting
for the followers, but which do not benefit you. This could be for example helpful links or information.

IMCCM MAGAZINE

PAGE 7

Purchase button in customersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; brain?
What is going on suddenly?
by Hilke Heitottink
The most important key role of international marketing is the focus on the
customer. Nowadays, 80 percent of the newly launched products fail,
although an intensive market research has been conducted. Therefore,
about 20,000 items must be withdrawn from the market after a short
period each year. According to the market research organization, a
total of ten billion euros are wasted, every year. Companies research,
test and evaluate the market but at the end results are flat wrong.
Besides the economic damage, companies face, the questions remains:
What have we overlooked or what have we done wrong? What have
we learned from this? What can we do better?
Neuromarketing is the solution. A Google input of this term in 2001 led to
a

zero

result,

Neuromarketing

today

the

entries.

search

Whether

engine
market

shows

over

researchers,

400,000

marketing

manager or recruiters: the expectations of this new discipline are high.
Companies are able to save money by Neuromarketing. Although brain
Neuromarketing is the

scans are initially more expensive than to evaluate questionnaires, is it

solution. A Google input of

an efficient method to analyze customer behavior. The major problem

this term in 2001 led to a
zero result- today the
search engine shows over
400,000 Neuromarketing

of

questionnaires

is

that

90

percent

of

consumer

makes

an

unconsciously purchasing decision. Numerous studies have shown that
our brain decides and usually customers do not know why they have
chosen it.
What is Neuromarketing?
Neuromarketing deals with how buying decision arise in the human brain
and especially, how to influence them. With the powerful and
sophisticated methods, it is now possible to evaluate exactly the brain
process. In addition, the graphic representation of the results provides
very clearly and intuitively understandable results. Researchers evaluate
the motives, emotions and driving forces of the customersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; brain.
Therefore, companies influence the consumer decision of buying.
Every person makes about 10,000 conscious and unconscious decisions
a day. Decisions regarding the weekly shopping are mostly based on a
gut instinct. Should I make rice or pasta tomorrow? Do I buy a piece of
chocolate for the children? Shall I buy strawberries now, because they
are fresh?
While it was expected for a long time that customer makes a rational
and conscious decisions, the current brain research shows that the
unconscious content of a decision is greater than the conscious. The
knowledge of this unconscious decision-making process and the
underlying neural mechanisms is of great importance for marketing.

PAGE 8

STENDEN UNIVERSITY

How do companies influence customer buying decision?
Customers often cannot provide information about the real reason for
their judgments and preferences. In order to clarify this aspect here a
little experiment. In a seminar, male participants were asked the
following task. Â´Look at the three women in the following figure! Which
woman is most attractive spontaneously? A, B or C? Which option you
have chosen?

The Result: 70 percent of respondents choose option B. Because the
difference of the images is not identifiable by the most people, they
often choose the middle. The true reason for the preference is not
available to the conscious experience. Therefore, many people may
only speculate why they choose B.
The resolution: The preference is the subtle relationship between waist
and hip. At B, the ratio is 1 (waist) to 0.7 (hip). Nowadays, the ideal
dimension is 0.67. Therefore, the higher the value differ from the ideal
dimension, the less attractive the woman. Also, cultural differences
can lead to different preferences and ideals. Thus, companies must
generate cultural knowledge, and they have to be aware of different
customer behavior. The brain registers the signal and the people
respond to it, without being aware of the reason for the buying
decision.
The experiment with the three women is comparable to a typical
consumer situation. In times of saturated markets, consumers are
confronted with a variety of equivalent products. By what criteria they
choose one or the other product? Which signals influence the decision
making by the customer? The product differentiation is increasingly
difficult, but as we have seen in the experiment with the three women,
there is always a small difference. Therefore, brands and products are
not interchangeable, but companies must pay high attention to the
subtle difference and relevant importance for customer. Customers
are exposed to more than 3.000 advertising messages a day, but
customers do not have time for intensive examination of this
advertising. How important is the new shampoo poster on the street, if I
am just trying to get out of the city without an accident.
Neuromarketing is important to convince customers in the 21st century,
due to the variety of equivalent products and the decreasing values

The brain registers the
signal and the people
respond to it, without
being aware of the reason
for the buying decision.

IMCCM MAGAZINE

PAGE 9
The bulk of advertising is perceived by the customer through the eyes.
However, the visual impression is especially effective when combined
with a further sensation. Granted, this is somewhat difficult to TV
advertising but has been used successfully in traditional retail. More and
more supermarkets place their bakery department at the entrance.
What sometimes is coincidence is more often intentional. The smell of
fresh bread makes you hungry and encourages the purchase of all kind
of food. Therefore, the sales will increase significantly. A test in a building
center has shown that smell of mowed grass makes the customer feel
that the staff has more knowledge about their products.
There are many studies that prove this example. Wine shoppers were

The most popular experiment in
the field of Neuromarketing is the
‘Pepsi-test’.

roughly three times more likely to purchase wine of the same nationality
as the background music. None of the participants were aware of the
main determinants of their decision. Therefore, they could not give the
real reason for their buying decision. This appears that much of the
decision-making is driven by the thought process that occur ´below-thesurface´. Answers to the purchase decision are mostly justifications and
not relevant reasons for their buying behavior.

Brands influence the minds?
Many companies are trying to improve their brand image through Neuromarketing in order to generate brand awareness.
The science of Neurobranding seeks to understand the fundamental psychology of consumer behavior and with that
knowledge build extreme brands with maximum emotional impact.
The most popular experiment in the field of Neuromarketing is the ´Pepsi-Test´. Therefore, test persons had to test Coca
Cola and Pepsi blind, without knowing which coke belongs to which brand. Since the eighties, it is known that Pepsi is
better rated in blind tastings than Coca-Cola. One answer is provided by the Texas neuroscientist Read Montague. He has
repeated the Coke versus Pepsi test and monitored the brains of his test persons with help of the magnetic resonance
tomography (MRI) scanner.
Result: As expected, the reward center of all test persons was reacting stronger by drinking Pepsi. Immediately Montague
expose the specific brand, not just the preference of the test persons but also the pattern of their brain activity changed.
The brand name Coca-Cola clearly stimulated a region in the frontal lobe, the medial prefrontal cortex. This is responsible
for higher cognitive functions and plays an influential role in the self-image of a person. Apparently, positive associations
and self-esteem are associated with the name Coca-Cola. The name and not the taste make the brand valuable. Even if
the coke of Pepsi tastes better in every way from the competition, cognitive biases can prevent potential customers from
coming to that conclusion. Therefore, Coca Cola doesn´t sell a soft drink, they sell an attitude of live.
Nowadays, market scientists are able to predict in advance the product for which consumer choose. By measuring the
brain waves they know the decision rather than the subject consciously decides. This modern brain research has triggered
another new marketing trend. Companies are increasingly relying of subliminal advertising. It is not necessary to show the
logo of a brand. ´Shockingly effective´ is it to rely on images and sounds that are closely associated with the brand. For
example, there was an experiment with several smokers. Pictures of a camel in the desert or a cowboy lead to stronger
incentive to smoke than the logos of Marlboro or Camel itself. One of the reasons for this is that the brain does not realize
this subliminal advertising as advertising. Therefore, the barriers we usually build toward advertising vanish. For that reason,
mainly tobacco manufactures circumvent law regulations.

PAGE 10

STENDEN UNIVERSITY
Which neurons exist?
There is no purchase button in the brain of the customers. The reason is the
complexity of the brain. The approximately 1,500 grams heavy thing with the
size of a cauliflower is the most complex object in the known universe. It consists
of 100 billion individual parts (neurons). Two neurons are described as follows:
Mirror neurons:
These special little neurons deemed responsible for human empathy sure get a
lot of press even though their very existence in humans is still in question and
hotly debated. These neurons provide a strong effect: What I see, I want to
have and ´I take the same thing as you´. In other words, mirror neurons, fire in
the brain when merely observing another’s actions like stubbing a stub and
feeling the pain of this person. One of the best examples of the effect of mirror
neurons is the iPod from Apple and its white headphones. Until the introduction
of the music player, there were just black cables available. After offering the
white cables, the customers want to have these cables instead of the black
ones. The brain reacts at the mere sight of a desirable product. Women go
shopping and feel as a model during buying a dress. Men play ´Guitar Hero´
and feel like a rocks star. In both cases, the mirror neurons prevail over rational
thinking-, and this is used by marketing professionals in order to generate brand
awareness.
Dopamine neurons:
Thanks to the chemical dopamine, the brain gets a happiness boost at the
thought of ´rewards´. Dopamine neurons have ´crucial cognitive skills´ because
they gather many data that the brain would overlook. These will translate it into
feeling. However, dopamine may also have disadvantages. Gambling based
for example on the chemical dopamine neurons appear in predictable
excitement.
At discount sign has been determined that the control region in the brain
activity decrease and the reward system increase. The mind seems to be
incapacitated when a discount sign appears. The discount symbol suggests an
optimal price performance ratio. In these cases, it inhibits the internally
supervisory body for behavior, in other words, the price is no longer questioned
by the customer. For marketers, the differences between spontaneous and
planned purchased decision plays an important role. Therefore, an experiment
exists where such a customer situation was proofed. The customer had to
choose between two coupons - The first one was redeemable immediately and
the other one in two to four weeks, but the latter one was more valuable. Brain
scans showed that two completely different nerve centers were activated.
While offering the valuable coupon, the prefrontal cortex was activated, so the
rational center in the brain. For the immediately redeemable coupon, the
dopamine system was activated. The region with the highest activity won. The
majority choose for the immediately purchase and waived a part of the money.

IMCCM MAGAZINE

PAGE 11

Is Neuromarketing ethically?

The criticism on the new marketing strategy is getting louder; the
ethically correctness is in dispute. The view that the customer may not
be able to make a conscious and rational buying decision, but is
controlled in a sense of his emotions, encounters ethical objections.
There is talk of influencing human and buying behavior of customers.
Marketers use this knowledge gained of neuroscience directly for
marketing of their products. Products are designed in that way that they

.
Neuromarketing uses
sensory finding and
methods from various
disciplines and makes
them available for
marketing practice

appeal to the emotions and feeling of consumers and influence the
buying decision. Â´The glass consumerÂ´ - this is for some marketing and
advertising experts a wonderful idea, but this idea that people are
absolutely transparent and manipulable is for many ethically and
morally unacceptable.

But what can companies do in order to reach their customer in an
ethical way? The only way to prevent that customers make an
unconscious decision and are not influenced by Neuromarketing is to
make buying decisions more contemplative.
As you can see in the graphic, if customers have to give thought to
every single buying decision, they would have died for hunger in the
supermarket because they would have taken hours for shopping. In
order to avoid influencing customer behavior, all marketing activities
should be eliminated because all buying decisions are related to some
kind of marketing activity even if companies do not want it.
Nevertheless, there is no purchase button in our mind.

Customers have to give thought
to every single buying decision?

PAGE 12

STENDEN UNIVERSITY

What is a Social Media Manager
actually doing?
by Maria Coco
Top 12 duties of a social media manager

People across the World Wide Web talk and exchange
information

1.

Implementation

of

a

social

media strategy
Managing social media sites

3.

Monitoring customer issues

4.

Monitoring trends and adoption

and

services

throughout diverse social media platforms. It happens very

answer within the shortest time possible. This is the moment

social media for the users is not just about posting to Facebook
and Tweeting, it is about brand reputation management,

Social media â&#x20AC;&#x201C; an indispensable marketing application. This
method of interaction among people is a preferred option to
communicate and share information. The era of smartphones,
apps and mobile internet also plays a big influence on social
media platforms and the frequency of usage - this is what
makes lives easier in this highly technological world.

The implementation of the right social media channels should
be adapted to the respective target group to ensure beneficial
results for both user and company reputation. It seems to be an
easy job but what is a social media manager actually doing?
What are their duties and responsibilities?

IMCCM MAGAZINE

PAGE 13

Implementation of a social media strategy
A social media strategy does not appear out of thin air. It needs to be developed and implemented properly. To be
successful in this field of marketing it is advisable to develop a plan for a corporate social media strategy.
Furthermore, duties such as calculating budgets for social media activities and recruiting suitable staff belong to the
most important duties. Objectives and implementation must be determined to round off the first step towards a
successful social media strategy.
Managing social media sites
Out-of-date social media accounts and pages can form easily a bad image of a business and give customers the
wrong impression of oneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s company. This is the most crucial duty of a social media manager: guarantee that
accounts are â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;feedâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; on a daily basis with the newest information, news and articles to increase recognition and
awareness from the customers. In this case, they will make use of social media tools (i.e. Tweetdeck, Hootsuite, etc.)
to schedule tweets, to appear overnight and on weekends, to promote the brands to night-owls and clients in
different time zones. These tools will make their life much easier to maintain a social media posting schedule.
Engaging in dialogues and monitoring customer issues

In this day and age it cannot be prevented. People will post
both good and bad things about a company. It is vital to
monitor the internet for any positive or negative feedback
about an organization. The social media manager will animate
and show appreciation towards individuals for their positive
feedback, and try to console unhappy customers. In most
cases this needs to happen within only 160 characters to get
straight to the point. It is all about eloquence and the ability to
capture the best of the company in a nutshell without any
contradictory elements. They have to sell and promote a
company or a product in the most attractive way. Very
frequently

they

also

have

to

involve

themselves

into

conversations and answer questions.

Monitoring trends and adoption of social media tools
Going along with the newest social media trends and using
the best suitable tools is the key to success. The social media
manager identifies and decides for which trend to go for and
how to implement it in the respective strategy. This will ensure
that the company is ahead of the competition and presents
itself to its best, reaching the maximum amount of customers.

PAGE 14

STENDEN UNIVERSITY

Searching for news and articles to post
To make the own social media site more interesting it is of great
importance to ‘feed’ the users and customers with interesting news
and articles which will lead to interesting exchange rounds. Of
course this depends on the nature of the organization but in general
the social media manager should ensure a constantly provision of it.
Furthermore, it is vital to monitor the activities of main competitors on
social media. This will inspire to come up with new ideas, actions,
write editorial contents as well as post and comment on relevant
blogs. Moreover, they have to search the internet and the news
headlines for articles, stories and tips that are industry related. This
could also include creating and uploading videos.

Implementation of social media campaigns

Firstly, such social media campaigns need to be planned in advance and be double checked with the available
budget. This is definitely not an easy task for a manager of a startup company that could use a bit more of attention.
Social media campaigns are things like e-coupons, promo codes or the chance of winning a prize for ‘Liking’ a
company on Facebook. Social media managers will develop these ideas and bring them to realization.

Managing social media campaigns
As soon as the campaigns run for a certain period of time the results and effectiveness need to be shared not just with
the head of the company, but also with the respective customers to show them what they achieved with their
participation. Tracking and monitoring the results and success of online initiatives is important in order to calculate a
return on investment. The social media manager has to analyze and evaluate what is working and what is not work as
well as improvement possibilities.
Writing blog articles
To reach a major influence on the target group it is a great benefit to be a good writer and know what customers want
to hear. Therefore, it is important to be able to write interesting articles or blog postings on topics relevant to the
company or industry. The social media manager will identify and develop blog posts and other materials. In other
cases, they maybe have to recruit and develop other bloggers and blog editors.
Using social networking analysis tools
To actually measure the impact and the success of social media channels, many social media managers will use useful
tools to make life easier, for instance TwitterCounter, Google Analytics and other tools to measure traffic activity. The
results will be an important source for a social media manager to identify if improvement or new trends are necessary
to increase the success of the marketing application.

IMCCM MAGAZINE

PAGE 15

Monitoring internet for brand related topics of conversation
The social media manager will actively participate in industry conferences, chats, blogs, wikis, video sharing, etc. to
promote corporate messaging and increase brand awareness, which will drive brand traffic to company website.
There are always conversations going on in the social media, which form a perfect space for managers to launch their
own discussions and conversations about new technologies, products and services. This is ideal to promote itself
successfully.

Providing feedback to higher ups
A well-run organization has a strong internal
communication structure. The social media
manager should be in constant contact with
the Public Relations, Marketing, Sales and
Management departments. This will ensure a
better communication on public feedback,
complaints and conversations surrounding the
brand and company that are taking place in
the public space. Moreover, this kind of
exchange will be very favorable to represent
the same values and goals.

Promoting social media within the organization
Inform the company staff about the importance of social media as well as the implementation of new technologies
and campaigns. This is definitely a must when it comes to changes or adoption of social media. The manager will also
promote these activities internally.
To sum up, a social media manager is actually not just ‘hanging around’ on Facebook! There is a lot more than just
‘liking’ videos and posting some updates on Twitter. It starts deep down in the resources and capacities of a company
to plan such a social media strategy. Throughout the whole process of a marketing strategy it is of great importance to
represent the own company in the best possible way and insert the own abilities in a most efficient way.
Thanks to competent social media mangers companies have the chance to reach a much higher amount of their
target group and customers can easily share opinions and get information.

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The newest marketing trends in 2013
by Nicki Mueller
Marketing signifies in many cases to analyze, conceptualize and present something. It starts with an analysis of the
market and the customer requirements, followed by an analysis of competitors. The next step is to conceptualize
market entries as well as product positioning and presentation of the submissions to facilitate the decision-making.

From year to year marketing is changing enormously. This continuous development can be really frustrating and it
requires a lot of effort to be always up to date with the newest technologies and trends of the coming year.
A marketer has to ask and search for the answers of the following questions: ‘What does the customer want?’, ‘How will
the requirements of the customer change?’, ‘What is the competition doing?’ and ‘How to react on trends and new
technologies?’

Integration of all channels
In 2012, many people were discussing about social and digital media. These are the ‘new’ forms of communication
and one could assume by listening to the discussions that it cannot be unified with the traditional ones. In 2013 and the
future, marketing specialists feel certain that marketing activities will naturally be integrated via all channels. Digital
media will not be any longer experimental, it will be fundamental. Therefore, there will not be a distinction between
online and offline media anymore, an integration of all channels will take place.
Big Data
Big Data stands for elicitation, collection and evaluation of a huge amount of data to refine
analytical marketing. It was a buzz word of 2012, and simply means the support of a better
understanding of customers and the overall business. The biggest difficulty according to M.
Eric Johnson (Director of the Center for Digital Technology at Dartmouth University) is to
determine ‘what’ one will analyze and the ‘how’ to do that. Companies are at the moment
too inexperienced about the handling with the huge amount of data, but over the next few
years they will learn how to use the data in an efficient way and especially for their own
benefit.
Social Media
In the last few years it was common that every business wanted to be present on every social
media platform in order to make people aware of their products and brands.
Marketers now recognize that the availability on all platforms is simply impossible and does not
make any sense because it requires too much effort to be up to date and besides that not every
social media source suits to every industry. Due to this, a company should do good research and
pick a specific platform that fits the best for their business and reaches the right target group. The
desired result of such a specific platform will turn out in form of a greater return.
People are nowadays permanently online and thanks to social media, blogs and review sites they want to control and
be up to date at all times. Google Alerts started with their tracking tool for online postings years ago, but many other
companies lie far behind or did not even start with it yet. Tracking is highly demanded by many internet consumers.
Therefore, more and more companies should follow this trend, in order to increase their profit. In addition, reputation
management also plays an important role at the social media sources and is increasing rapidly in the last years. It
becomes more ingenious and absolutely essential. People ask family, friends or acquaintances for their experience with
products or services and hope for recommendations or the advice against it.

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These are the first contact persons because they are most trustworthy. In case no one of their real life network has
experience with the good, they ask the internet. Statistics show that consumers trust more strangers in the World Wide
Web than staff in a shop. By reason of online research, a company should always track what its consumers say about
the goods or services they offer.
Complaints and negative comments have to be avoided studiously for the purpose of not losing customers. Marketers
could hire agencies, such as Skweal, that are able to keep everything what is negative offline of their websites. These
companies not only hide the negative postings, they also forward the complaints in form of private e-mails or text
messaging to the right person in the company. For that reason, the problem solving and the satisfaction of the
customers will be guaranteed in the future.
In sum, every company is thinking about collecting data of potential and already existing customers. One way and as
a good example to do so is Facebook in form of counting the Likes. The next stage of companies is to set focus more
on profit by moving away from solely concentrating on new customer acquisition and toward retention of existing and
best customers.

Customer back in the limelight
In 2012 the focus of marketers was on technology, tablets and online marketing. In 2013, the customer is back in the
limelight of marketing activities. According to a study of TNS Infratest, the focus on customers is a priority and also a
great challenge in 2013. Should not be the focus on customers the most important idea of marketing in general? It
seems to be that marketers really lost their focus in the last years. A survey of Heinz marketing of marketing decisionmaker ‘2012 Marketing outlook’ reflects the same result. Two third of the interviewed people are using social media to
disseminate information about the company. Only 28% of the companies use the new media for customer dialogues
and customer support.This will change and must be changed in 2013 and the future.
Simple is better
Since 2012 people who are hyper-connected are totally overstimulated by their highly-digitized lifestyle. One example
of the overwhelming media in the internet was the constant repetition of videos such as the ones of ‘Gangnam Style’
or the ‘Harlem Shake’ with their bright, twinkling, complicated sensory input that exhaust the consumer mind
completely.
Marketing of 2013 is going back to the roots because people love simplicity. Out of this reason, marketers should
concentrate on marketing strategies that are simple in nature with no frills and furbelows. The products and services
should be as well really easy, simple to use and the features should also serve to simplify the life of the consumer.
Mobile marketing
Today a customer is not only using his PC anymore. There are several electronic
devices, such as smartphones, tablets, netbooks, etc., which have to be considered. If
a company wants to be successful, it has to invest heavily in these devices.
A marketer has to keep in mind that every website and their content must be
optimized for every device. As a matter of course it will require a lot of time and effort
to be always up to date. The know-how for building apps and developing services
that tie together big data, social media and other initiatives will be in great demand.
Due to this fact, a company has to rethink the development and management of
their tools and services. As a consequence the head of marketing has to work with all
other departments in the interest of creating a fully integrated experience for their
employees, partners and naturally their customers.

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STENDEN UNIVERSITY

QR Codes get real

Within the last few years a new trend arose, the Quick Response code (QR code). There is a high potential given from
these codes, but unfortunately many organizations are either not using this marketing tool yet or are not able to
provide codes that are connecting the consumer with the right home page or landing site with the right information in
which the scanning person is interested at that moment.
Marketing managers have to learn about the highly developed ways of QR codes to be successful.
Tesco a giant supermarket chain from UK is already using the potential of the codes perfectly. They introduced in the
UK and Korea a virtual shop at subway stations where people can scan with their mobile devices life-like products and
the delivery service of the supermarket will deliver the requested products at the desired time to their homes.
Location-based services and mobile payment
More than 50% of the cell phone users in Germany have nowadays a
smartphone and the tendency is increasing. The interchange of
location awareness, mobility and social media provides now many
opportunities. For instance, at the point of decision-making a company
can target its customers via smartphone and send him coupons or
incentives which create a demand for the product. Furthermore, these
tools are also offering the feature to listen to customers carefully and
understand trends as they arise. According to Bonin Bough (Vice
President of Mondeléz International) is to ‘buy quickly’ the future of all
media buying, but companies must be especially aware of privacy
issues because not every smartphone user is willing to share his location
data. In addition, she said ‘It’s not entirely clear how all of this will pan
out, but there’s no doubt that marketers will be at the center of the
dialogue’.
Besides, the localization of the customers, Google Wallet, Square,
Apple, and other companies have introduced electronic payment,
loyalty, and couponing systems. Unfortunately, the expectations are at
the moment higher than the services which the companies offer. The
technology is still evolving, but in any case marketing executives should
keep an eye on mobile payment because it will be soon an enormous
trend.
To sum up, at the moment the GPS and ‘always online’ function of a
mobile device is not used extensively. There is definitely a huge
potential in knowing where the customer is at the moment and then
communicate directly with him in terms of e-mails or short text
messages.
Due to this, location-based services and mobile payments will be
definitely counted to the marketing trends of 2013 and the future.
Booking a train or bus ticket via your phone and checking in on
Foursquare are just the beginning of a new era.

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Going Global
by Patrick Schonewille
Globalization â&#x20AC;&#x201C; A process of interaction and integration

Introduction

Nowadays many companies choose to expand their business beyond the borders of their native country. Globalization
is important in current societies because cross-border trade, investment and cultural exchange are increasing.
The world is becoming â&#x20AC;&#x153;flatâ&#x20AC;? and shrinks together. This results in one big changing market. One of the main reasons is,
for example the use of new technologies, such as the internet. This makes it a lot easier to share knowledge. This makes
globalization very important for companies to operate in the international market. Becoming a global player can be
necessary to survive in a market where not only native companies are your competition. To increase your market share,
reputation and turn-over it is important to expand beyond the borders. This makes it very important to find new markets
and to become the leader by conquering. When going global a company needs to deal with all kind of new issues.
Today, Classical marketing is not enough and must be complemented with new techniques to overcome these issues.
Going global is not something you decide from one day to another and this article will explain why?

What is Globalization?

Globalization is a growing phenomenon an mostly described as
an integration of economic, financial trade and communications worldwide towards a more integrated economy.
Other than most people think, globalization is not something new. Thousands of years ago people (and later also
corporations) from all over the world already traded with each other. A well-known example is the famous Silk Road
across Central Asia that connected China with Europe. The last few decades policy and technological developments
urged increased trading beyond the native borders enormously that. Many experts think that that the current
globalizing means a new phase in the global economy. The world trade increased with a volume of 20 times since 1950
and from 1997 till 19999 the investment of countries in foreign countries almost doubled from $468 to $827 billion.
History

Naturally, this question is almost impossible to answer in a short article. Globalization can be studied from a historical
perspective and is a process that found its origin many decades ago. By looking back on the history of globalization
the historical analysis with look on the origin, growth and implications, can give more insight and better understanding
what this phenomenon really means and gives the opportunity to discuss the current wave within globalization.
when the first people were started traveling from Africa into the world. First, with short and later longer distances. Next
people immigrated to different countries and of course with them their values, ideas, customs and products. This leads
to adaptation and combination of different minds.

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STENDEN UNIVERSITY

Behind the New View of Globalization

Many economists believed for decades that trade has played a significant role in the losses of jobs of middle class
incomes. It does not benefit the majority of the worldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s population. At the moment it is slowly growing to a deadly
proportion. It benefits the wealthy, which are a small group on the total population. Instead of focusing on trade
economists are stating that â&#x20AC;&#x153;skill-biased- technical changeâ&#x20AC;? played a big negative role in holding down the middle
wages. Many top economists nowadays changed their view and think globalization could be the leading cause of the
income stagnation.
Impact of Internet

The internet is probably the most important technological innovation of
this time and has a very important role in the emergence of globalization.
The internet has become the capital city in the world where people are
connected with each other. Internet is cheap and makes it easier to
communicate.

Like any other village this means that people are

adapting more and more from each other for example, the behavior and
values. On the internet difference between countries are minimal and
that makes it easy to buy beyond the native borders. Consumers are more
educated and know more about the products. They are not longer
restricted to the local companies.
Countries that had profit from globalization:
China: Reform led to the largest poverty reduction in history. Between 1990 and 2005, poverty rates in the country fell
from 60% to 16%, leaving 475 million fewer people in poverty.
India: Cut its poverty rate in half in the past two decades.
Uganda: Poverty fell 40% during the 1990s and school enrolments doubled.
Vietnam: Surveys of the country's poorest households show 98% of people improved their living conditions in the
1990s.
Source : http://web.worldbank.org/

Some countries that failed to success with globalization:
Many countries in Africa have failed to share in the success of globalization. Their exports have remained confined to
a narrow range of primary commodities. Some experts suggest poor policies and infrastructure, weak institutions and
corrupt governance have marginalized some countries. Other experts believe that geographical and climatic
disadvantage have locked some countries out of global growth. For example, land-locked countries may find it hard
to compete in global manufacturing and service markets.

Globalization provides many opportunities but not all countries are happy with it. In the United States and Europe
there have been protest against the effects of globalization while other countries, for example Africa have a strong
support of the different aspects of this phenomenon. 75 per cent of the households think that it is very good for their
economy that foreign countries invest in their country.

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Going Global?
Why should a company choose to expand their business by going global?
Globalization can provide companies a better image but it remains a challenging and difficult
process to include as a company. Going Global means to achieve a competitively presence within
different strategic global markets without deviating to much from the original values. With a global
brand a company most of the time refers to the 70/30 principle. This means that 70 percent of the
company values remain and that 30 percent will be adapted to the can be reflected to adaption
of the market of operation. More companies incorporate the globalization with internet as most
important tool within their strategic management. In the current rapidly developing market it is a
matter of life or dead to be innovative and to search for new markets. A well-known example is the
outsourcing of several processes to foreign countries the costs can be reduced and more profit can
be made.
Before going global
Going global is a challenge for most companies. The process brings all kind of issues before succeeding in other countries.

Culture
One of them is the process of convincing different cultures with a successful product does not mean that it will be a
success in other cultures as well. Many people think their cultural values are superior compared with other. Before entering
a new culture you need to know everything before an effectively promotion can be started in the business environmental.

The laws
Countries have their own laws and what can be legal in one country could be illegal in another. Before entering a new
country it is very important to do research and this can save a company a lot of money. It is important to consult with local
lawyers and accountants in order to have no surprises.

Promotions
This needs to be selected carefully in order to reach the new target group. In the past many companies lost their image
because they did not adapted the local habits into their promotions. It is very important to know everything about the
rules, requirements and habits of the new culture.

The budget
Different legalities can cost an operation to another country more than you expected before. At the start of the operations
it is possible to capture a lot of the legalities in order to make the operation run as smooth as possible.

Language
Companies need to keep in mind that languages of countries can be an enormous barrier. As English continues to grow as
the global standard for communication, changes to the language are unavoidable. “There is no such thing as a society
lapsing into using unclear or illogical speech—anything that strikes you as incorrect in some humble speech variety is
bound to pop up in full bloom in several of the languages considered the world’s noblest.” Like American scholar John
McWhorter noted. Today there are about 6,500 different languages. Eleven of them account for the speech of more than
50 percent of the world’s population. Those eleven are Mandarin Chinese, Spanish, Hindi, French, Bengali, Portuguese,
Russian, German, Japanese, Arabic, and English. The Sapir Whorff hypothesis states that No two languages are ever
sufficiently similar to be considered to represent the same reality.

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STENDEN UNIVERSITY

Keys to success

The opportunities for global expansion are different and attaining success
demands a strategic extension plan. One of the most important
differences between failure and success are often the cultural issues.

The most important key is to start with a strategy and not with tactics. Any
decision must start with a long term action plan when going global. This
plan must contain the corporate vision, the mission of the company, and
identifying opportunities in compatible and desirable markets. This makes
it all about strategy and not tactics. To answer several tactical questions
it is necessary to get the expertise about the market and understand the
people and their culture.

Identify your competitive edge and use different techniques to achieve
new goals. Stick to old techniques that led to old goals does not make
an organization successful. Keep in mind that a new market has different
players and needs a new kind of approach. In order to succeed a
company should focus on its competitive edge, whether that be their
product, strategy or a combination.
Future

The world has become enormously interconnected. The way that our economic and political system has
changed brings countries closer. The world is merging together and nations will interact more with each other.
With all these connections the world is starting to look different. New opportunities and

communities.

To

become a well-known big player companies needs to go global and adapt culture difference.

Conclusion

There is no doubt that globalization contributed a lot to world we know today. It stimulates economies of
countries all over the world and forces the world to stay innovative. Still there are many discussions whether it is a
positive or negative process because like with many other things; the benefits of globalization comes with
drawbacks. In conclusion, globalization has advantages as well as disadvantages. One has to weigh the one
against the other. For big companies it is necessary to globalize and secure their market position. For small
companies it is better to focus on a smaller market.

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PAGE 23

Apple – a giant, a love and a dictator by Carina Temmen
Apple is one of the best known brands in the world standing for innovation, coolness and success. Everyone
owning an Apple product feels like a member of a big community. But what is behind the brand?
Apple Inc. was founded in 1976 by the Americans Steve Jobs,
Steve Wozniak and Ronald Wayne in California, USA. The
company focuses on producing hardware and software

8 Astonishing facts about Apple
1.

Only 59 countries are bigger than
Apple
Apple’s revenue of $156.5 billion
last year is bigger than the GDP of
128 countries (for example New
Zealand, Belarus, Ecuador or
Bulgaria)

2.

Apple sold 125,04 million iPhones in
2012
That is 342,575 iPhones per day

3.

Apple hired 8,700 industrial Chinese
employees in 15 days
That’s more than 24 per hour

4.

After one quarter, Apple’s profit
would be enough to pay the total
government costs for education in
a year

5.

After two quarters, Apple would be
able to pay the inflation adjusted
costs of the Marshall Plan

6.

The ‘disappointing’ revenue of $35
billion Q1 in 2012 was still more than
the revenue of Google, Microsoft,
Netflix and RIM together.

7.

Each Apple store receives 17,000
visitors per week and generates an
average of $11.1 million in revenue.

8.

More iPhones are sold per day than
babies born

products and counts to one of the leading producers for
computer and entertainment.
In the beginning years, the company concentrated on personal
computers only. Even though, Apple was already a pioneer in
producing computers back in the 70s, they came a long way
since then. By producing customized products with a classic
and noble design they became the world’s most valuable
brand. Today Apple is selling a wide range of products covering
computer/laptops (Mac), mp3 players (iPod), smartphones
(iPhone) and tablets (iPad). The small ‘i’ at the beginning of the
brand names is standing for internet, individual, instruct, inform
and inspire.
In 2012, the company employed approximately 72,800 workers.
Compared to the year 2006 (17787 employees), it is an increase
by circa 300 per cent. Viewing the change in turnover, the
company grew by approximately 700 per cent during the last 6
years. This means, the turnover is 7 times bigger in 2012 ($41,733
million) than in 2006 ($1,989 million). Even though Apple is the
15th biggest company in the world, it is also still ranked as the
8th most fast growing company.
Branding is Apple’s key to success
Apple is by far the brand with the most loyal customers in the
world. Ranking number one for tablets and number two for
smartphones, Apple leaves Amazon on rank 3 behind followed
by kindle on rank 4.
Sure, Apple launches new and innovative products every now
and then but are those products really way better than
competitive products from Samsung, Sony or HTC? Do these

products really deliver the customer better possibilities and a better quality? There is one simple answer - NO.
Actually, it is the other way around. Apple users are most of the time more limited, are charged different prices for
apps like WhatsApp, and sometimes programs or formats are not compatible with Apple’s operating systems.
Nevertheless, customers adore Apple. But what is the reason for Apple’s success?

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STENDEN UNIVERSITY

Apple was always a brand standing for imagination, design and innovation, but there
was a time Apple did not do very well. After Steve Jobs one of the founders of the
company left Apple in 1985, due to an in-fighting between him and John Sculley, the
company became more and more unsuccessful. John Sculley, former vice president
of Pepsi Cola USA and from 1983 until 1993 president and CEO of Apple computers,
turned Apple into the biggest single computer company worldwide. He marketed the
brand like no one else, raise the marketing budget from $15 million to $100 million. But
all the advertisement could not save Apple from the almost ruin in the mid-90s. A big
decrease in turnover and no innovation in development nearly led to bankruptcy or a
hostile take-over by competitors. Something had to be done.
The recovering of the company has a name: Steve Jobs. The best what happened to
Apple in the 90s was the comeback of Apple co-founder Steve Jobs in 1996. 1997
Steve became manager of Apple and started restructuring the company: Managers
were fired, the focus in products was changed and finally Apple made a deal with
Microsoft, which was the most important step for the company to take back then.
Apple started branding their company in every possible way. Their branding
strategy focused on emotions. Emotion is something everyone has and by
emotion Apple ensured to reach every single potential and present customer.
The company’s brand personality is about passion, liberty, hopes, dreams and
lifestyle. Furthermore, it is about simplicity and about reducing the complexity
from people’s everyday life. Apple wanted to be seen as a kind of supporter who
understands the customer and have a heartfelt connection to them.
In addition, Apple created a real community for their customers. Apple still counts
to premium price products which come with a certain kind of status for the
owner. Nevertheless, mobile contracts made it possible, that almost everyone
could be a member of the Apple community. Specific apps and features like
Face-time were only possible to be used by Apple users. That was when the
Apple hype began. Even though in time Apple became a mainstream product, it

Every Apple user is a
part of the Apple
family

still created a feeling of being special. Apple’s intimacy to the customer leads to
the fact, that the customer does not just like the brand but love it. Their loyalty to
the company increase to such a big extent, that almost all Apple users
recommend the devices to friends and families and would never switch to
another brand.

Steve Jobs – Not a dream chief
There is no question about the most important man for Apple - Steve Jobs led Apple to another chapter. Despite
his big support for the company, Steve Jobs was not the nice neighbor who invited you once in a while for a cup
of coffee and a piece of cake, but he was described as narcissistically moody and not interested in other
people’s feelings. Experts stated, that exactly this characteristic was necessary to lead Apple to the company it is
nowadays. Jobs made decisions which he did not doubt afterwards and HE decided what the customers want He never asked for their opinion.

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PAGE 25

Internally, employees called Steve Jobs a tyrant and the company dictator. He was the one who decided
EVERYTHING by himself. Even the look of the new shuttle buses for employees was his decision. After a fail in
launching the online service MobileMe, Steve Jobs convened a team meeting and said to their employees
‘You should hate each other for betraying each other.’ Although Jobs took every little decision by himself, he
never was responsible for a failure.

Secrecy has the highest priority
The corporate culture states, that no one is allowed to talk about his project or work in general. Most of the
time colleagues do not know which projects the other colleague is working on. Furthermore, employees are
not allowed to talk about work with their families. Who violate this rule, will be fired.
A figure of speech which really exists in the circles of Apple is ‘Everyone, who is working for Apple wants to get
out, and everyone who is out wants to get in.’

Overtime
Bad work conditions in industrial countries
Although Apple is selling fun with its products to the customer, they are more or less
lacking any sense of humor in dealing with their employees. In Germany, work

Cameras everywhere

environments are not in the least comparable to other German employers.
Depending on the location, employees working in Apple selling stores earn
between 7€ and 5€ per hour. The salary is not appropriated for people, who have
to proof for example perfect English skills. Furthermore, working overtime is nothing
unusual in Apple departments and stores. Sometimes people work from 7am until

5€ per hour

10pm.

5 toilets for 200 employees

Workers are monitored by CCTV cameras almost everywhere. Apple does not just
use cameras to prevent shoplifting, but also to monitor what their workers are
doing. What are they doing when they are in the lunch room? How often and how
long do they use the toilet? Do they talk to their colleagues more than necessary?
CCTV cameras are installed everywhere; Even in front of the toilets.
In Munich, there are only 5 toilets for 200 employees, a small piled holding area and
no changing rooms. Workers have to change in front of their locker. This kind of
work condition is actually not expected from a company owning the most valuable
brand and having the most loyal customers. Workers in developing countries are hit
even harder.

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STENDEN UNIVERSITY

Bad work conditions in developing countries
Everyone knows that workers in Asia are often treated in a very bad way. No one cares about their health,
their security, their private life (actually their life in general) and their families. No continent has as bad work
conditions as Asia. Although a great deal of companies makes use of the lack of precise labor law and of the
corrupt government, Apple is pioneer and role model for bad work conditions and no sense of empathy.
Asian workers are intimidated by their team leader to listen to him very carefully and to carry out the orders
without contradiction and counteraction. Officially, whippings are forbidden in the working area, but it is no
isolated incident that team leaders wait outside of the working area for the workers to ‘get his just deserts’.
Just about 38 per cent of Apple’s supplier sticks to the maximum amount of 60 working hours per week and
circa 35 per cent of the suppliers are careless in using dangerous substances and standards to prevent
injuries.
Workers are not allowed to use the toilet whenever they have to. Going to the toilet is only allowed during
mealtime and in two other timeframes during the day. Moreover, sexual harassment is not unusual in Asian
fabrics.
Apple agreed on the statement of 2 explosions in Chinese plants where 4 people died and 77 got hurt.
Additionally, in January this year 300 employees of Apple suppliers threatened with a mass suicide. By
jumping from the roof of the plant, they wanted to protest together against the work conditions.
Unfortunately, this is not the only incident. There were already several workers committing suicide by jumping
from the roof or out of windows. The only thing the plant leaders did against those actions was stretching a
net around the building.
Apple shows regret
After test results from investigations in Asia were
published and showed the bad work conditions for
Asian Apple employees, Apple was the first
manufacturer of electronic devices who joined the
Organization Fair Labor Association (FLA). FLA tries
to ensure appropriate work conditions worldwide.
The company for example wants to increase the
amount of annual inspections of their suppliers and
wants to try to prevent child labor the best they
can. According to Apple’s new CEO Tim Cook,
Apple wants to be a role model for other
companies and wants to set a good example for
the whole industry.

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PAGE 27

Cross-cultural Marketing Research
Technology, Equivalents & our marketable future
by Afiya Simon
Consider the following lyrics “I'm not a businessman, I'm a business, man” (Kanye West) and ask yourself if this
statement has any bearing on you as a consumer in this day and age. The future of the web, web 3.0, is
already making its presence known. Not only is it affecting the way businesses currently conduct cross-cultural
marketing research, but it is also affecting the social media consuming public at large, possibly inadvertently.

Marketing research is all about providing timely and relevant
information. Technology is changing at an indescribable tempo, which,
perhaps to some might come across as a cliché, but technology at this
breakneck speed is not only bending time, but also (un)intentionally
disrupting lives. In this regard, marketing research has always been
essential, not for the disrupting of peoples’ lives mind you, but in that it is
all about supplying timely and relevant information. At the same time,
being versed in cross-cultural approaches can go a long way.
The knowledge gained from the research can reward a marketer with
insight in concocting the right marketing mix to target a specific group
of potential consumers. As such, cross-cultural marketing research
transcends borders. Understanding the cross-cultural environment is thus
vital as it is a basic ingredient for attaining any goals pertaining to
research objectives.
Cross-cultural marketing research on the other hand, involves ‘looking with other eyes’ at potential
consumers. It goes without saying that ‘marketing is a process involving communication and exchange,’ in
that ‘consumers buy meanings as well as objects.’ Thus, if an organization is intent on going global,
developing an understanding of how different cultures respond to stimuli could likely be the equivalent of
winning the lottery. Hence, investing time, effort and money in cross-cultural marketing research is a
prerequisite

when

considering

going

global

with

business

products

and

or

services.

Technological advances
Technology for this reason has thus far also played a major role in the marketing research activities of 2013.
The technological advances has impacted our lives in such a way that, if we need to know what the
weather is supposedly going to be like in the next few hours, we can easily download an app just for that
purpose. Thus, an app that tells us, not only the forecast for the next few hours, but an app that suggests
what kind of accessories one can consider appropriating in view of the expected weather conditions. For a
marketer, these new found advantages can add more value to their promotion strategies. The added
value being again equivalent to having actual figures of how many people actually download and or
actually use the weather forecasting apps. By having access to or insight into the actual real-time figures,
the marketer can likely proceed in adapting its promotions to the weather conditions. As a result, the
marketer can in turn target this ‘promising’ group of potential consumers accordingly.

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In this regard, technology is as exhilarating as it is inundating. On the one hand, technology affords
us enormous benefits, but on the other hand, because of the vast automation of business
processes, technology has also caused millions of people to lose their livelihoods. Take for instance
the present plethora of social media tools and platforms currently in existence. The technological
advances that has brought us the likes of Facebook, pardon the play on words, serves several
purposes. One example being the ‘bringing’ of people together, and another, the destruction of
relationships and or reputations. The latter obviously being accidental. ‘Accidental’ in the sense
that it can be surmised as being a source of discord amongst people, and or bringing a company’s
reputation into question.

Twitter storm
Consequently, underestimating technological advances can likely result in
dire consequences. Another example where the extent of the advances
in technology was underestimated, involves the US raid on ‘Bin Laden.’
The twitter storm that erupted when a Pakistani tweeter or twitterer twitted
tweeted or twittered about noticing a commotion in the area where he
lived. This, while unawares that a specialized US team was executing one
of the most tweeted about missions thus far in history. That tweet
thereupon could have likely lead to a disastrous situation of epic
proportions. To that effect, cross-cultural research could likely have
prepared or provided the US troop with backup plans from A to Z in terms
of eluding potential setbacks. However, this is mere speculation, as the
public will likely never be privy to such information. Then again, there are
exceptions as is the case with the wiki-leaks.

Web 3.0
In essence, the future of the web, web 3.0 at that, is significantly influencing the way businesses and institutions
conduct [marketing] research. To reiterate a statement from a previous paragraph, ‘if an organization is intent
on going global, developing an understanding of how different cultures respond to stimuli, could likely be the
equivalent of winning the lottery.’ This brings us to why the ‘equivalence’ theory has so much significance in
terms of analyzing the results of cross-cultural marketing research. To expound further, Usunier & Lee (2009) state
the following; “the feedback loop that links consumer research information to product improvement and to
personal interest is as uncertain as it is complex. ” In other words, if for instance, a marketer were to interview two
sample groups in two different countries, the survey questions would have to be worded in such a way that the
meaning of the specific question could not be misinterpreted, by being lost in translation. One particular type of
equivalence that poses as a major issue for our imminent and marketable future is that of data collection
equivalence. Cross-cultural marketing research should arguably always supply timely and relevant information.
However, because companies are developing more ‘intelligent’ technologies, they can simply bypass or evade
the strenuous or time consuming methods of the traditional researching methods of gathering information.

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So instead of a company continuing to invest in segmenting global
markets and target groups, a company could instead rely on the masses
of collected data to provide insight into how, what and where to
approach consumers with their offerings. Analyzing such vast amounts of
data leaves the potential for a great margin for error if the data is not
correctly interpreted.
To visualize this process, try imagining a scenario where, on one part of the
globe, a citizen is looking up the word ‘bank’ via an online search engine.
There is a possibility where a company pushes its advertisement of ‘banks’,
in the Dutch language, meaning ‘sofa in English to where it irritatingly
pops up in the results for that particular citizen. Meanwhile, the other
results in the search engine rankings shows a ‘river bank’ as referring to
lakes or rivers in the vicinity of the citizen’s residence, or yet another
irrelevant result that depicts a ‘bank’ as a place where money is
processed. In this manner, the erroneous results are never ending. All the
while, the citizen could merely have been searching for an acquaintance
with the last name Bank.
Social settings
Concurrently, ‘functional equivalence’ denotes that examining the social
settings, in which a product is consumed, is essential in determining e.g. the
right combination of product attributes. Hence, “the main difference between
domestic and cross-cultural market research lies in the difficulty in establishing
equivalence at the various stages of the research process.”

Moreover, our marketable future as ‘businesses’ is a very lucrative one.
Companies will likely rely heavily on tracking consumer behavior even more
than ever before in order to market their products based upon the analysis of
said findings. What with GPS tracking software and Smartphones and ipads
and wearable technology. Take the example of Nike using wearable
technology in the form of smart watches for e.g. joggers. The idea is that the
joggers can stay connected with their social media community during the
entire run. This concept is a bit jaw dropping, because it is just another concept
which is encouraging the saturation of irrelevant messages already in overkill.
However, the idea of just about anyone being able to pinpoint your exact
location at any given moment in time, without explicit permission just borders
on irresponsible behavior. If you consider that third parties already have
accessibility to private information via the sharing of information on social
media platforms, it should inspire people to reevaluate the extent to which
they allow themselves to consume the socially exploitable platforms.

Individual consumers
or lucrative
businesses?

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STENDEN UNIVERSITY

Private Citizens
The idea behind the trend of collecting information about private citizens
is supposedly to enhance the product mix strategies in offering the right
goods at the right place and at the right time. In other words, the key
focus here is personalizing the marketing activities. In this situation, crosscultural marketing research may seem redundant, because companies
will have direct access to information about individual consumer
behavior patterns. In contrast, knowledge of cross-cultural marketing
research can also help the marketer to tailor their offerings more suitably,
in the event that a potential consumer finds the company before the
company finds or locate them.

On the whole, cross-cultural marketing is a fascinating concept. The researching aspect helps in garnering
an understanding of the subtle differences between cultures, as well as helping an organization with in
accomplishing its objectives. Yes, technology is amazing and reaching astounding heights at breakneck
speeds every day. However, it remains to be seen if consumers will be content with seeing themselves as
businesses, thus a means to profit with currency signs on their backs, except they won’t be the ones
making the profit. Somewhere some company’s now existent cashbox is going ca-ching. It does make you
think, how will web 3.0 affect us in the long run?! But then again, web 3.0 is no longer futuristic, it’s right
here, right now. Not quite visible yet not quite invisible. Possibly further food for thought?

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Generation Y Branding
Since I was born in 1985, I belong to the so called
Generation Y.

Generation Y is brought up in an

environment full of brands, technology and commercial
media. In the rise of digital media, this generation was able
to create their own personalized view. The Generation Y
has become increasingly powerful over the last years
because companies are going to respond to the demand
of this consumer generation. So what does Generation Y
exactly stands for? If you are born between 1980 and 1996,
you are a part of this Y generation. It is the first generation
to come (young) adults in the new millennium. Generation
Y goes by many synonyms such as Generation Search,
Generation

Next,

dot.com

generation

and

the

NET

generation. What makes this generation so increasingly
important? Currently, 50 percent of the world population is
under 30 years of age and will soon outnumber the Baby
Boom

Generation

(post

WWII

fertility

boom).

As

a

consequence, Generation Y will have the most purchasing
power in the upcoming years.

Characteristics Generation Y

Ambitious

There are some characteristics of this generation which can

Generation X has raised their children as coaches

be distinguished.

with

one

central

thought

namely,

individual

empowerment. A result of such upbringing, is that
Technical Intelligent

they are more critical and in general not easily to be

Like already was mentioned is that Generation Y is quite

Family Oriented
impressed.
Expectations are high and Generation

technically intelligent.

Generation Y was born into an

Many
of confident
the Generation
children
haveroles
seenwithin
their
Yers
are
to takeY on
important

emerging world of technology and have been brought up

parents making
long
hour begin
shifts.working.
This generation
organizations
as soon
as they
They see

in an environment surrounded with smart phones, laptops,

prioritizes
family, overastheawork
place. example
They seek that
to a
Mark
Zuckerberg
perfect

tablets and other gadgets. Gen Yers are constantly

perfect balance
enjoyable
everything
is possible,between
and there are
no limits. life

plugged into technology and has become an essential

enjoyable work.

aspect of this generationâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s life. They are also attracted to
organizations where technology is the forefront of the
companiesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; ethics. Traditional companies are less of an
attraction for this dot.com generation

and

Family Oriented
Many of the Generation Y children have seen their
parents making long hour shifts. This generation
prioritizes family, over the work place. They seek to a
perfect

balance

enjoyable work.

between

enjoyable

life

and

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STENDEN UNIVERSITY

Good Team Players
Generation Y wants to be involved and included and therefore like the collaboration of colleagues and
fellow students. Constant feedbacks, gratitude, relaying to someone they are doing a good job are
common characteristics of Generation Y. In generations before, this level of communication was unheard of
In addition, Generation Y is more vulnerable for opinions of their peers. Especially, when it comes to their
purchasing behavior. Mouth to mouth advertising is what they seek. Mouth to mouth advertising can be
most found online with the help of social media such as Facebook, Twitter and forums.

New Branding Challenge
So Generation Y is starting to dominate the planet. We leave standardization and mass production behind and
welcome individualization and technology in this new era. But how will this affect marketing communications
and brand management?

Brands are already intertwined in our daily routines. How often do we say: Just Google it, Can I have a Coke? Or
I will send you a Whatsapp message. Probably far more than we are currently aware of. Over the years, powerful
brands have gain major impact in our daily lives and have slipped into our language. Since organizations grow
in size, influence is interconnected with that growth. Nowadays, brand manufacturers have ownership and
control of their brands. This is gradually changing, meaning that in the future, more and more brands will be
owned and controlled by the consumer. In the 1950s, branding belonged to the unique selling point (USP).
Meaning that the tangible product, and not the brand , was the core product. By the 1960s,

the first signs of

emotional selling point (ESP) brands emerged. Products that were in fact similar were perceived as different
because of emotional attachment.
During the 80's, the organizational selling point emerged. The organization behind the brand became the brand
and the organizationâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s objectives and philosophy that made the difference. For instance, look at Coca Cola
and Pepsi Cola. People rather drink the label than the cola itself.

In the 1990s brands gained enormous strength and the brand selling point took over. The brand became
stronger than only the physical aspects of the product. Every major brand invested in brand extension, and the
consumer market was flooded with Disney toothbrushes and Harry Potter backpacks. The consumer has
become more fixated on the brand itself, rather than the cartoons and the movies.

Branding as a religion
There is even an indication that branding will move into something more sophisticated. Branding expert Martin
Lindstrom states that this new world where the consumer desperately needs something to believe in. Martin
mentioned the holistic selling point. Meaning, that brands actually adopt religious characteristics. Each holistic
brand is trying to create their own identity which is expressed in every message, symbol, design rituals and
traditions resemble the way religions do.

IMCCM MAGAZINE

So

according

to

PAGE 33

Martin

Lindstrom,

brand

characteristics can be compared with religion?
This way of thinking is actually not that strange. A
couple of years ago researches applied the
characteristic of the Stockholm syndrome to
apple users. Everyone knows someone that is
absolutely mad about every Apple product that
is out there and is even willing to preach why
Apple is the best. The company Strand Consult
that has researched this phenomenon made the
following statement:
"Apple has launched a beautiful phone with a
fantastic user interface that has had a number of
technological shortcomings that many iPhone
users have accepted and defended, despite
those shortcomings resulting in limitations in
iPhone users' daily lives." "When we examine the
iPhone users' arguments defending the iPhone, it
reminds us of the famous Stockholm syndrome - a
term that was invented by psychologists after a
hostage drama in Stockholm. Here, hostages
reacted to the psychological pressure they were
experiencing, by defending the people that had
held them hostage for 6 days,"

So what has the Generation Y to do with this new era in
branding? Well, everything! According to Joeri van den
Bergh, author of ‘How cool brands stay hot’, mentions that
brands should behave like friends connecting with them on
the social network. It can be seen as a passive friendship
while you get to know the other by watching and gaining an
insight into the brand’s online life. Companies must be
transparent, and the Generation Y tends to trust their friend’s
opinion over a dictating organization saying that their
product is the best.
Generation Y finds it essential to have your own identity and
will be more loyal to brands that touch their emotion and
keeps their promise. According to Van den Bergh, it is up to
the brands to fit into the complex identity of Generation Y
rather than the other way around. This was actually the case
in the previous years. Brands are not dictating styles and
images anymore. Brands need to acknowledge this search
for authenticity, stability and harmony. These aspects are
what the Generation Y is also seeking in their own personal
lives. Generation Y rejects global branding and mass
marketing and Coca Cola anticipated quite clever on this
trend. They recently launched a campaign of Coca Cola
“Share a Coke”.

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STENDEN UNIVERSITY

It seeks to drive up the personalization of the brand and Coca Cola made a good move. Coca Cola replaced
their famous logo for 150 most common first names and words like ‘family’ and ‘friends’. Managing Director of
Coca Cola, James Woods said: “It is a brave move to replace the world’s most iconic brand with 150 names. It
will drive huge buzz and drive engagement. No other brand has gone to this scale of personalization."
Generation Yers are ethical consumers but do not deliberately purchase more of a certain brand because they
claim to be environmental friendly. This generation has become a bit numb regarding the explosion of charity
issues. They have considered it another fiction that is not affecting their direct lives. More important is that they
can make a difference by choosing certain charities to support. They will be more attracted by local and
national charities than for instance, starving children in Africa.
Successful brands do not offer products but they are the supporter of the Generation Y’s lifestyle. It is all about
positive emotions and companies and marketers that target this segment “Y” will stay better connected with
their consumers and therefore will more successful. In the last 2 years, the shift from Generation X to Generation Y
has becoming more prominent. Still, many organizations do not see the importance of this shift. Social media has
become booming and every company big, or small needs to be engaged in this trend. However, it does not
mean every organization knows exactly what they are doing on social media. Generation X is in many
companies on the steering wheel and do not feel and see the importance of customer engagement.

Make your Organization Generation Y Proof

Step 2: Be Present
•See your (web) shop as your own home. You want

So maybe you found out that your company is not

to create an atmosphere where people feel at ease

Generation Y proof at all. Here are some ways to do so:

and get a positive impression, just like your home.
•Integrate your advertisement campaign with social

Step 1: Make it relevant

media.

•It still starts with your product. If your product does not

•A website is more than only a point of information.

do what is promised you can stop now.

Try to seduce your customers to pay a visit on a

•Express the values and norms of your company.

regular basis.

Authenticity and uniqueness have more added value
than you think.

Step 3: Activate Conversations

•Create an experience. This experience will be shared

•Surprise your customers by sending a postcard on

with consumer’s peers and will provide a valuable

their birthday or post an inspiring video.

mouth to mouth advertisement.

•Give customers the floor and let them tell about
your experiences in life.

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Step 4: Stay Fair (FAst-Innovative-Rewarding)
•Respond fast with your consumer. Fast actions show your
affection and commitment.
•Stay innovative and even let the customers be a part of that
innovation. Keep asking for their opinion.
•Reward them for their loyalty. It is essential that you show
gratitude and appreciation for the fact they have chosen your
company.

Step 5: Have Courage
•Go a bit beyond your comfort zone and create a daring and
relevant image. For a perfect example, just look at the current
Heineken campaign.

So if you want to be or stay successful with your organization,
you should acknowledge the (upcoming) power of Generation
Y.